Nothing Like a Dame: Valerie Harper Talks 'Looped'

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PUT IN THE file marked, "This is why they call it 'acting'" — Hollywood bad girl Tallulah Bankhead will be portrayed by Valerie Harper.

Best known for playing TV's Rhoda Morgenstern, Harper will imbue Arena Stage at Lincoln Theatre with Bankhead's boozily outrageous antics in Matthew Lombardo's "Looped." The play re-creates a true incident in which Bankhead was called into a sound studio to "loop" one line of dialogue for her final film; the endeavor took eight hours. Lombardo created the play from the raw audio footage. "That tape is gold," said Harper, who took time for a phone interview to discuss the role.

» EXPRESS: So, tell me about this project.
» HARPER: It's a labor of love. We did it in Pasadena, then in Florida, and now it's headed to Broadway. Hopefully, this will be the last stop before then. After this, I'll be able to say, "I played the Arena Stage."

» EXPRESS: What drew you to the play?
» HARPER: I love playing Tallulah. It's a hilariously funny play. … Danny Miller [the sound editor, portrayed by Jay Goede] is in the position of getting the lines from Tallulah Bankhead. You can see his desperation. It's really very funny, but it gets dark, it gets deep. But the ending is an upper.

» EXPRESS: Some of the things Tallulah Bankhead pulled would make Britney and Lindsay blush.
» HARPER: Oh, my God, yes, and she was extremely talented and accomplished. She was famous in a time where everyone withheld.

» EXPRESS: Does having been in the spotlight yourself affect your ability to empathize with her?
» HARPER: The empathy came with my love of the theater. It's my first love. She was extremely generous and good-hearted. She could be horrible, but that was the substance abuse. I personally can't identify with that part. I have never had a substance abuse problem, except for an addiction to brownies.

» EXPRESS: You've also played Pearl S. Buck and Golda Meir. What's the biggest challenge in playing a public figure?
» HARPER: There's a major responsibility to honor who they were and represent them fully. You just want to avoid doing a caricature. ... What I do is find in the portrayal what is Valerie and what is not. You find the walk, you find the way she would talk. … You find the places where you're very much like the character, but you've got to be careful not to impose yourself.

» Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U St. NW; through June 28, $25-$74; 202-488-3300, arenastage.org. (U St.-Cardozo)

Written by Express contributor Erin Trompeter
Photo courtsy Annabel Daou/Phillips Collection